Consequences
by Chaogirl
Summary: Actions have consequences. They were only sixteen, they were allowed to blame their hormones, but they must deal with the consequences none the less.  Tim Drake  Robin III / Rose Wilson  Ravager , this isn't quite a romance.
1. prologue

Author's note, I don't always have my time lines straight from the comics, but I have read them all, sometimes though I get confused over what happens first, and who dies when, it's a hard time line to follow so errors in continuity must be forgiven. I don't own characters, etc, etc.

I tried to write this with as much realism as I could. Feedback appreciated.

This story starts immediately after the issue of Teen Titans where Rose shows up naked in Robin's bed and tries to seduce him. In the comic he turns her down, quite rudely, this alternative timeline imagines that perhaps he did not. It's not really a romance, it's supposed to be about two kids dealing with less then ideal circumstances together, and even though they put their lives on the line every day as part of their job, this very grown up situation is a hard pill for them to swallow.

...

They were only sixteen, they were already ancient in all the ways that really mattered. They had lived through a dozen wars, and learned how to say goodbye to loved ones as only heroes are taught, violently and mercilessly.

Ultimately they blame their teenage hormones, and no one was fooled, but everyone pretended to be. No one said it, but everyone thought it, two nearly broken teenagers desperately clinging to each other just to have something to hold on to. Filling the voids left from departed friends with each other, grasping tighter just prove they haven't died themselves. Please, he begs, it's not clear if he's asking her to stop or continue, she replies, maybe, he gasps and shudders and all his walls of control fall down around them and she is just as swept away in the moment as he. Calloused hands on smooth skin, her white hair mingles on the pillow with his black locks. For a moment they are dead and have ascended to heaven, together they choke and learn how to breath again. Long into the night and morning, she holds him and strokes his hair while he sleeps peacefully for the first time in ages.


	2. One day later

It's one day later. "It was a mistake" he says in hushed tones. His bright blue eyes and the the softer facade she had met are hidden behind his mask and uniform. No one else is on the roof, no one else can hear them. "We can't get involved, it's unprofessional"

She's trying to hide how hurt his words make her feel, so she masks it with anger, she yells at him and says things that are not true. Insults his masculinity, calls him terrible things, she knows he's hurting, she saw it last night, but she can't help but hurt him more, she says things about him and Superboy that she knows aren't true, and she twists the knife deeper.


	3. Sixteen Days later

It's sixteen days later. Rose is juggling her breasts, trying to determine how tender they feel, searching her body for the hormonal signs that her period is going to start. It should have started two days ago. Every pimple is meaningful. Every twinge in her stomach might be a cramp. She tries to put it from her mind and smile and act normal so no one catches on. She selects her favorite panties, white with blue polka dots, and scalloped lace edges, a suitable sacrifice to Aunt Flow, if only. Several times she rushes to the bathroom thinking she's triumphant, always to be disappointed.

Friday. Friday is the deadline she sets, Friday she will put her distinguishing white hair up in a knit cap, and wear a giant pair of shades to hide her eye patch and she will go to the most out of the way pharmacy. She's probably not pregnant she keeps telling herself, she just needs the peace of mind that the test can give her.


	4. Three Weeks later

It's three weeks later. Three weeks of avoidance. Avoiding each other, avoiding talking about what happened between them that night, and especially avoiding eye contact. He's sitting on her bed, uniform on, mask off, clear blue eyes closed, pinching the bridge of his nose. The test is on her dresser. "We can just take care of this, Rob, no one even has to know". Logically that would be easier, but she's not a logical person. She puts a hand over her flat belly, and she knows that pretty soon it won't be so flat any more, a thousand thoughts have been running through her head in the days spent waiting for her period. She knows if she keeps it, she will change, her body will swell, her belly of course, and her hips and her breasts, and her hormones. It won't always be pleasant, and then at great pain to herself a helpless little person will be cast out into this terrible world. It might be a wonderful person, or it might just be one more pawn in her father's family games.

"No" Robin stands up, "our actions have consequences and we have to live with them, we'll find another way" he grabs the mask he had removed and fits it over his face. "We did this Rose" he gives her a wane smile that doesn't do a thing to lift her spirits, "whatever happens we'll be in this together, I promise you that" he takes her hand and it's the sweetest he's been to her since that night.


	5. Three weeks and one day later

It's three weeks and one day later "I expected better judgment from you Tim" Tim silently accepts the well deserved remark. The weight of his actions have been bearing down on him, until he can barely stand to look his adopted father in the face. His father sighs and looks off into the distance. "We have connections, we know people, we could find a home..." Tim can hear the idea trailing off and he knows there is a 'but' coming. "But these things have a way of coming back to haunt us." He doesn't need to say the name but they both know he's talking about Damien. "No matter where we place him, her father will track the child down eventually" Or maybe someone worse then her father.

Batman pulls the mask off and scrubs a hand through his hair. "What are her intentions?"

"She, we, haven't decided yet." Robin replies. "Does Slade know our identities? She's never given me reason to think she does, but Slade's always amazingly informed."

"Possibly, probably, does that change anything?"

"Considering our daily duties thus far have been a matter of life or death, I would say that we are possibly mature enough to handle the responsibilities of teenage parents, but I'm just not sure how Rose fits into the family"

…...

Rose's mom was a single mother. No one ever asks her about her mother, her mom was never a threat to her friends, never an asset to the Titans, never a danger to the country. They don't like to talk about the whorehouses she grew up in.

Until she was fourteen, this kind of thing was part of her life. Well not her life, she didn't work for a living, but it was like a family there, and even though the girls were careful, this kind of thing happened. Sometimes they saw a doctor and got it taken care of before it was even an issue, and sometimes they didn't. Rose's mom never forced any girl to do anything they weren't ready for, and if it meant another hungry mouth to feed, then that was the way it had to be.

Rose's mom was a good person, and she wasn't the whore they think she was, she was a princess, no one even bothers to ask, no one even bothers to find out. . She taught Rose how to be clever, how to not get caught, how to fight, how to take care of herself. If sweet Lillian Worth could do it, could be a single mom to the bastard child of Slade Wilson, Rose could certainly raise the Boy Wonder's bastard just fine.

She doesn't need Robin's help, she doesn't need anyone's help. She's got so much to teach this baby, so much to give this baby, and everything is going to be just fine.

She paces the room, she fingers a cigarette, she lights, it, she butts it out. She paces the room some more.

"FUCK!"

She's fidgeting with another cigarette she won't smoke.


	6. Three weeks and two days later

It's three weeks and two days later.

"I'm keeping it" Rose's face is expressionless on the screen. Robin is sitting at the console communicating with her from the Batcave. "Nothing you can do about it, my mind is set, with or without you, I'm having this baby"

Robin's sighs patiently. "I'm not arguing against that, we got in this together, I'm with you all the way, I told you that"

"Oh" Rose really wanted him to fight her on it, really imagined the whole conversation, the tears, the accusations, the screaming fit of righteous wrath. "So, now what?"

"I guess a lot of that is up to you, Rose, I got the finances to fund his or her future, whatever we decide, but I'm not writing a blank check. I am going to be a father to my child, so what do you want?"

"How's that going to work, with your identity and all, am I going to be let into your bat club? Will me, and your child, have to call you by code names?"

"I kinda need Batman's permission for that kind of disclosure, but that was the general plan"

"Who's plan?"

"My plan" Robin is looking at her very earnestly.

"And if he won't give you permission?" Suddenly she finds Batman's secrecy very irritating.

"Then I come up with another plan, how much do you know about us already, about me, besides my persona as Robin?"

"Well you got blue eyes and black hair, an odd combination, and you're circumcised" she giggles at her own statement. "Uhhh.. upper crust east coast accent"

"Has your father ever told you anything about us"

"Not beyond the professional aspect, but he knows more then he's said"

"Okay, my mentor and I have some things to discuss, I will get back in touch with you in the next day or two."

they don't say good bye.

…...

"So?" Tim shuts off the display and turns to Batman.

"What about the media?"

"Tim Drake probably needs a body guard of her caliber, things can happen after we've officially met, obviously we'll select an obstetrician who will help deflect attention from the length of her gestation"

"And if she betrays us?"

"We will have to have a contingency plan"

"I need Oracle's input, it's a lot of people on the line if she turns on us"

"It's my child on the line" Batman doesn't have a reply for that.

…...

He flies her to Gotham, some conversations need to be had face to face.

"Tim Wayne" her voice flutters excitedly as she repeats it back "you mean Batman is Bruc-"

"Yeah" he cuts her off, obviously uncomfortable with this.

"You weren't kidding when you said you would be able to to provide for our child financially"

He's crouching on the edge of a gargoyle, binoculars in one hand, eyes never wavering from the action across the street as they talk. He's always all business.

"Correct, and although I'm sure you are aware of the many, many valuable reasons to maintain that secret, among other things, our family fortune won't be there for our child if you blow our cover. You know, and also a lot of people I love will die, and also our family provides the economic stability that keeps this city running, and it's citizens employed, and also all the people who count on our protection."

"so don't share it all in a personal letter to the Joker"

"Not just the Joker, not just our enemies, don't tell ANYONE" he says it emphatically, "Our secret, not your dad, though he may know, not Eddie, not our team mates"

He taps his ear "Did you get the footage?" he asks, and at first Rose is confused, then she realizes he's communicating with someone on the other end of the line.

He turns his attention back to Rose and smiles once.

"If it's all sunk in, I'll take you home, my home that is." He holds his hand out to her as he unhooks a line launcher from his belt.

She takes his hand, and he grabs her waist and leaps, trusting his own talents to hook a line implacably, she can feel the wiry muscles sliding under his armor. Two blocks later he's setting her down near his motorcycle. He tosses her a helmet and they're off. He drives fast, but she's not scared. Not until it seems he's ramming them full speed into the side of a cliff, she cringes and holds on tighter, trust, she breathes, and of course nothing happens, they pass through it, it's an illusion to defend their fortress.

"This is the Batcave, those are the bats, this is some place you probably are not going to be allowed often, sorry. Scary man in the corner is Batman, he's my dad. And if any of the other reasons I stated did not convince you that you need to be very careful with the family secret, you should probably remember that if you betray us, he will be paying you a visit shortly after."

The cave is massive, and it's a lot to take in, oddly decorated with what she imagines can only be trophies, a giant penny, a dinosaur, not to mention the training equipment, the computer equipment, the … Rose doesn't even know what equipment. "what's that?" she points to a uniform similar to Robin's hung in a glass case.

"That's a memorial to the time when the previous Robin was dead"

"Was?"

"He got better"

She turns to follow the sound of Robin's voice, to finds him standing there in nothing but a pair of drawstring pajama pants, when she raises an eyebrow at his attire he shrugs "we don't wear uniforms upstairs, typically". And then he's shooing her up a staircase before she's even had a chance to properly take it all in.

They exit through a grandfather clock into a richly appointed room. "This is Wayne Manor, it looks more impressive from the outside" She can't believe that's true. "The clock is the only way into the cave from the manor, it's locked bio-metrically, it only allows me, Batman and Alfred in"

"Alfred?" she's asks.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance, Miss Wilson, or do you prefer Miss Wilson-Worth?"

She jumps, previously unaware they were not alone in the ornate room. "Uhh.. just call me Rose" He's dressed as a very formal butler, a caricature of a butler almost. Black jacket and pants, starched white shirt, black tie.

"Very well Miss Rose, may I show you to your quarters?"

"Rose, this is Alfred, don't be mistaken, he's not really the butler, he's the patriarch of the family"

Rose is actually a little creeped out, but Alfred has a very kind expression that eases her a little.

"It's been a long time since we've had young ones scampering about these halls" Alfred says as he leads through the massive house, "it will be quite delightful to hear a child's laughter once again. I'm sure Tim will fill you in on the particulars of our living arrangements, but feel free to seek me out any time you need anything, I prepare most of the meals around here, you'll always find our kitchen well stocked, and I can chauffeur you to town should you ever require it, or get you set up with a vehicle, as you prefer"

He stops in front of a large door in what seems to be the living quarters. "I have already fetched the luggage from your journey and had it brought to your room, let me know if you require anything else to be comfortable here"

And with that he opens the door, ushers them in, and walks away.

"He seems a little weird" 

"Naw, he's great, he's what makes us family, without him we'd all just brood dramatically all the time" It makes Rose laugh. "So these are the rooms I picked for you, I don't really know what's proper or appropriate, when you are inviting your work associate who is also pregnant with your child to stay with you and your family, but I thought we should start with separate rooms" she smiles at his joke "though obviously we are having to make huge sacrifices to fit you into our already crammed household" He smiles at her and she laughs at him.

It was more of a suite really, it opens to a sitting room with a small bathroom, beyond that an arched doorway leads to a large bedroom with a luxury bathroom and closet big enough to be a second bedroom. Connected was a smaller bedroom that was mostly empty.

"The smaller bedroom could be a nursery if you stay here" He shrugs and is obviously a little ill at ease. "I mean, I'm not trying to imply anything, you wouldn't have to stay here, we could get a place somewhere else, or you could, you know, or whatever" he scrubs a hand at the base of his neck while he looks at anything but her.

"uh, yeah" there was a lot they needed to talk about.

"so I kinda took the liberty of coming up with a cover story." He's still avoiding looking at her.

She raises an eyebrow and waits for him to explain.

"It gets kinda awkward with the alias, but I need to have a way to get you formally introduced to me as Tim so we can manage the PR of the whole, pregnant with my child thing, also the legalities of parenthood, and you know, stuff like that, so officially the story is Tim Wayne has been receiving some very serious death threats recently, Robin thought the change of scenery would be good for Ravager and assigned her to the case, sorry I didn't discuss this with you, but I was kind of going off the cuff last night while getting this ready, plus I thought body guard duty, though dull, would give you something to do while you're here, eventually Tim Wayne and Ravager will admit they've grown close during their time, by the time the press is noticing your changing figure, we'll have a good cover story set"

She's not sure if she should be angry or not. He definitely should have asked her before planning all this.

"Cool, so uhhh yeah, do you want to settle in, or I can show you more of the manner, my rooms are down the hall a ways right now, but I might end up moving closer if you stay in this suite, there are a couple of kitchens here, but mostly what we use is called the family kitchen and it's just down those stairs we came up getting here we take most of our informal meals in there, there's a TV and entertainment center in your sitting room here behind that cupboard" he points to some fancy oak paneling built into the wall that obviously opens up. "So, make yourself at home" He raises his arms and gestures to the room around him. She's actually noticing him more then the room. He's still wearing nothing more then the drawstring pajama pants he threw on in the cave, and he looks really really good without a shirt.

She wanders into the bedroom, the bed is massive, the furniture looks expensive and antique and totally not her style. The whole room is twice as big as her room in the tower. The bag she carried with her on the Titans jet to Gotham is sitting on the bed, Alfred managed to fetch it like he said.

"I figured you might travel light, so I uh took the liberty of getting you some extra clothes to wear during your stay, you can stay as long as you like, but obviously you can always go back to the Tower if you want to get away, and we'll have to go back there eventually"

"How many of the Titans know your identity, And what does body guard duty entail?"

"You get to hang out with me all day" he gestures to himself with both thumbs and huge grin. "remember all those times I suggested you go back to high school and you blew me off?" Rose groans, she knows where it's going. "Don't worry, me and Bruce got to work things out with the school still, you get a few days off to enjoy luxurious Wayne Manor, do some shopping on our dime, get settled."

What a manipulative little asshole. It takes her five whole seconds to remember that even a manipulative little busybody like Robin wouldn't actually plan this scenario.

"Anyway, like I said, make yourself at home, I got some lab work to take care of, and my patrol reports to file before I can call it a night, so I'll be downstairs" she can tell 'downstairs' means the cave, "but Alfred will be nearby if you need anything"

It's a lot to take in all in one night, she flops down on the bed as soon as he leaves, of course it's a wonderfully comfortable bed, probably the best money can buy. After a few minutes she gets up and starts to poke around the room and tentatively lets herself think of it as hers. The bathroom is stocked with cosmetics and toiletries, the walk in closet has a few items hung in it, a bathrobe, slippers, several drawstring pajama pants not dissimilar from the ones Tim wore are folded up next to a stack of soft jersey tee shirts. In the back of the closet are some wardrobe bags, she unzips the first one and groans "you have got to be kidding me" she says out loud to no one. Grey wool skirts and starched white shirts, navy blazers and matching ties. The distinct uniforms of an elite prep school. "he can not be serious about this". On the shoe rack she sees some polished black oxfords, somewhere she's sure there have to be navy knee high socks.

She unzips all the wardrobe bags, the first three all have more of those blasted uniforms. The last one has two dresses that each probably cost more then Eddie's first car. Spangles and lace peak out in the bright closet light, one's red and the others cream. "that's more like it"

She opens several of the chest drawers in the closet, and finds the expected knee socks, also what she imagines must be the gym uniform, and a swimsuit.

She stays up watching TV until she hears Tim's door down the hall shut four hours later. Then she goes to bed.

…...

Tim can see her light is still on, and the faint flicker of TV under the door to her room as he makes his way to his own. His eyes are tired from staring through the eye piece of a microscope as he compared dental incisions from a recent crime scene for hours.

He is not looking forward to taking her to school, she smokes, she cusses, she sleeps around, she's one of the bad kids. He mentally reprimands himself for his double standard, that's how she wound here, apparently he's one of the bad kids too. He keeps a list of regrets, and it ranks somewhere lower then going on patrol the night his father died, but it's still pretty high. He knew better too, that's what rankles him most, he was not operating on logic that fateful night with her. It's not that she isn't pretty, and frankly if he had a type, she might be it, but still, sleeping with her ended up being a poor life decision.

He shakes his head and continues to his room. He hasn't slept in close to twenty hours, class starts in four hours, he needs to sleep, he brushes his teeth then flops on the bed, he's asleep by the time his head hits the pillows.


	7. Four weeks later

Tim is sitting at the breakfast table when she comes down. Her appearance is enough to make him do a double take. Logically he knew the school uniforms would fit her perfectly, seeing is believing.

Oxfords and knee socks, gray pleated wool skirt, starched white shirts like only Alfred could starch them and navy blazer with the schools logo embroidered over the breast pocket, she was the very model of a modest school girl. Only a blushing hint of white knee showed between the socks and the modestly hemmed skirt, the shirt was buttoned high and the matching maroon tie pulled tight, her hair was neatly braided in dual braids.

She steps into the kitchen and does a twirl and flips a braid over her shoulder. "Just call me Lolita"

"It looks great Rose"

She just rolls her eyes at him, "It will be worth it if I can get just one good knock down drag out fight in this get-up"

"No one's actually gunning for me, Rose" 

"Maybe someone should, it'll make this more convincing"

"ehh... we'll see about that" Tim gets plenty of the real thing at night.

"I'm gonna look like a goddamn anime girl with my swords on"

"Rose, you're not bringing your swords to school"

"Like hell I'm not, body guard, remember, that's the point of this whole little fetish costume you got me in, not going to be able to guard you if I'm not armed, besides, I think the swords look pretty dashing with the outfit"

"Rose" Tim is shaking his black locks, "Look, maybe later, but not today, first day and all"

Alfred chose that moment to interject. "Miss Rose, I'm afraid you don't have much time for breakfast, but perhaps I can get you a bit for the road, I have some fruit salad already prepared, and perhaps a quick egg and toast?"

"uhhh sure"and just like that she was distracted from her tirade.

Alfred drove them in the limo, Tim was old enough to drive, and sometimes he did, but not today. He filled her in on the countless details he thought she should know. His friends and rivals, the classes and the teachers, it's as thorough as the briefings he gave the Titans as Robin.

"Give it a rest Tim, it's high school, not a warzone."

"Not today I hope"

She wonders why he's so pessimistic about this.

…...

"Your BODYGUARD" Zoe's reaction to Rose at school was more then a little awkward for Tim.

Tim shrugs and does his best to act like it's normal. "Well you know, after the kidnappers got me, Bruce has just been a little paranoid"

"yeah, why didn't he hire like the secret service, or you know, like a professional body guard, she's a teenager"

"I think that's the point, anyway, she's a Teen Titan, so she is professional"

"And a total Hottie" Ives interjects, "If you bore her too much, let her know she can guard my body anytime she likes"

"I'll keep that in mind" Tim hears Rose say just as she slams Ives' locker shut, startling Ives and Zoe who hadn't know she was there.

"Well come on Timmy boy, guidance counselor says we got English composition, first period" and she doesn't even bother to hide the disgust and annoyance in her voice as she slings a bag stuffed with all her newly issued books heavily over one shoulder.

Tim has a feeling it's going to be a very long day.


	8. Six weeks later

It's six weeks later. "Just pretend you don't hate me" Robin, dressed in his perfect Tim Wayne disguise is easing his classic GTO into the parking spot at the local sports stadium.

She hates him very much right now. She hates his prep school, she hates his friends, she hates his lifestyle. She never thought she would say this, but she hates his car. His classic GTO, with it's original restored 387 muscle car engine, and it's vintage leather seats and original chrome parts preserved in perfect condition, and it's sexy rumble. Okay so she doesn't hate his car, she can never do that.

He won't let her carry swords to school when she's clearly there to be his BODY GUARD, he drags her along to school, and to these public outings, lets everyone see her doing a shit poor job of actually guarding him, then ditches her every night while him and the other cool kids play vigilante. Which he has graciously condoned to allow her to join him, on a few of his surveillance missions, but that's it.

She's stir crazy and crazy, she hates Gotham's weather and she hates Gotham city.

"Look, Rose, I can tell your pissed and you can yell at me later"

"No, I think I can yell at you right now, I am sick of this farce, you drag me here, you put me in prep school, you make me jump through your hoops and I am done with this, give me the keys!"

"What?"

"You heard me, that's something else, you never let me drive, I'm the body guard, I do the driving, now give me the keys and get in the back seat!"


	9. seven weeks later

Seven weeks later. She's back in Titans Tower, pacing. They fought today, a team of murderous robots on some rampage or another, it was a rough battle, despite being a total joke, but Robin backed her up, they fought well as a team, the two of them, their styles fit together well, it was as though each of them could anticipate every move, like dance partners. It was the first time they really clicked together as a couple since that fateful night. Despite that though, right now he was really pissing her off.

"I'm not asking you to retire" his voice is so calm and logical, "Just a hiatus, for a few more months" Seven or eight more months actually. She still hasn't seen a doctor, and she knows he's going to chastise her for that too.

"And what exactly am I supposed to do with myself during 'Hiatus'" she uses her fingers to make air quotes as she says it. "This is who I am!" their connection on the battlefield is light years away.

"Go to school, travel, study, meet new friends, whatever you want, money-" Rose cuts him off immediately, she knows he was about to say 'money is not issue', to pay her way through whatever she wants to do that isn't heroics.

"I will NOT be your kept woman! I am not your whore, I am not your purchased uterus, this responsibility I carry is just as much mine as it's yours"

"I'm not asking to you to be a pet!" he's angry now too, "I'm just saying it's more then your life out there" His voice is raising too. "Have you even been to see a doctor yet" she knew that was coming, "do you even care about the health of our child"

Our child, the words are staggering. No matter what happens between them as grown ups, it doesn't change the fact that they're going to be parents together. She sits down in a huff. "If I take a hiatus, what do we tell the team?" Most of them don't even know his true identity. Eddie had seen the pictures of her and Tim in the paper, and congratulated her on the new boyfriend. How could Ed have been so dense, why couldn't he have put it together, it's not like the domino mask really covers his face.

"I don't know, I trust most of them, but there's always exceptions" Bombshell's betrayal is still vivid. "That's why I was hoping we could make this work as Tim and Rose, then you could tell them you're leaving to be with your boyfriend for awhile, some of them would know better. We only need to tell them what they need to know"

She would be leaving Eddie, and maybe lying to him, when he was the only person who really treated her like a friend all this time, she's not sure how she feels about that. "Was there someone for you back in Gotham before this happened?"

"No, not really" and she can tell there's more to the story then he's saying.

"no special someone aiming to be your trophy wife?" She smiles and it's cruel.

"It's not like that Rose, I didn't date very much"

"I bet you had to beat them off you with a stick"

"There was only one" his voice is quite sober.

"Let me guess, she was a model, or an actress, or a rock star, something that accessorizes well with 'playboy millionaire'"

"no, she wasn't, but she's dead now anyway, so let it go Rose" His voice brooks no argument, and frankly that wasn't the turn she was expecting.

She made him uncomfortable, he makes his excuses and leaves.

Once gone she does something she should have done awhile ago, and researches Tim Wayne nee Drake. Actually the whole story is pretty depressing. He was only linked to a few girls, and several of them were dead, the most recent one Stephanie Drake, was a beautiful blonde. Beaten to death brutally during the time Robin was absent from the Titans. And then the whole business with his parents, Mom first, then his dad, eventually even his step mom, and then of course Superboy, Robin was always so close to Superboy. She closes the screen and goes to bed, it's a lot to think about it. She knew he'd lost friends, she hadn't realized how much he had lost.

The next morning she's vomiting in the girls bathroom. This was a side affect of her condition that she had hoped would pass her by.

"Give it a rest Rose" she hears from a girl outside the stall, "bulimia is terrible for you" Wonder Girl still hates her. "I'm sure your rich new boy toy likes your body just the way it is, blah blah blah, something about self esteem" Wonder Girl's voice is cruel and petty.

Rose wipes her mouth with toilet paper. Sometimes she can see poor decisions forming, and she almost can't stop herself from railroading down the wrong path. She steps out the stall and makes herself aggressively in Wondergirl's face. She hopes Wondergirl can smell her vomit breath. "I'm not bulimic, I'm pregnant"

She regrets sharing as soon as she see's Wondergirl's expression, telling the team changes everything.

…...

"It's not that we're doubting your abilities, you're a great team mate, and a mighty warrior" Starfire is always so kind, "it's just that we" they group of them, they've been discussing Rose behind her back. "think that maybe you should give it a break, due to your condition."

Funny, Rose thought that sleeping with Robin would cement her place on the team.

"Have you picked out a doctor yet? I'm told that is Earth custom, to select a doctor for assistance in the pregnancy and birth,of course you may always have ready access to the medical facilities in the tower, and I have assisted several battle matrons in birth on Tamaran"

Rose doesn't want her interference, though she appreciates the team's decision to send Starfire instead of Wonder Girl for this little ladies chat.

Robin is waiting for her in her room when she gets back, and he does a remarkable job of not gloating about her eviction from the team.

"I know you don't want my help Rose, but you should let me"

Maybe it's the hormones, or whatever, but she's already tired of the drama from this, she knows he's just trying to help. "I want to go to Cambodia for awhile"

"Sure, anything, got family there?" wouldn't that just make his day, help him sleep better, if he could re-unite her and her long lost family, come to terms with her roots.

"I don't actually know" she replies, which is the truth.

…...

She doesn't tell Tim she's looking for her mom because she's not even sure her mom is alive, but she can't quit being being the kind of girl she grew up to be, she has to have a mission. Tim arranges all the travel, and when you are as rich as he is it's just that simple, catch a plane here, check into a hotel there. She listed all the places she thinks she'll want to visit, he booked it all for her, and here's a credit card, and do you need new clothes, and don't forget the sunscreen, spend crazy, have fun.

He let her drive that beautiful, beautiful car to the airport. "So I contacted several doctors over there, you can stay as long as you like, but make sure you see an OB/GYN about the prenatal care"

"Yes Tim"

"And I lied when I said you can stay as long as you like, you have to return before you're eight months along, or they won't let you on the plane home"

"Yes Tim"

"And call me if you need anything"

"I got it Tim, you're not my dad"

"not your dad, not anyone's dad, yet"

They stand there looking at each other, it's awkward.

"I'm going to kiss you goodbye" he says, and it's almost matter of fact.

"Wha-" her confused reply is cut off by his lips. They are warm and they are soft, and he knows how to kiss.

"Because I wanted to" and that was all the reply she gets before he gets back in the car. They are always leaving the hard conversations open.

…...

Tim is almost relieved to be packing her off to Cambodia. Relieved and apprehensive. There's no trouble going on over there any more, the Khmer Rouge is long gone, the current government is stable. He's done his research, and sent a few messages and a few bribes to help her on her way and inform him if anything happens, but she should be fine. Its a relief he hadn't been expecting. To be able to put this whole situation off a month or two.

His communicator blinks, it's Oracle, he calls her on the drive home from the Airport. "I'll be there as soon as I can" he says, as he diverts the GTO towards one of his hidden nests.


	10. nine weeks later

Rose lands in Phenom Pang a week before the Monsoons start. The customs clerk looks over her passport and never blinks. It says clearly she's a natural born United States citizen, when she clearly knows she was born here, but that's just one of the many little things her mother gave her. Her mother had many tricky ways to forge an identity.

The foul weather of the monsoon suits her. Tim got her the best suite at the Grande Royal Hotel, that suits her too.

She has the cabbie drive her to the worst parts of town. The red light districts. Parts of town where an American girl by herself should not be safe. It only takes two serious fights to convince the lowlifes around here that she's not just any girl, they leave her alone after that.

"I've seen you prowling little girl, you looking for a good time or a good job?" An attractive but aging woman asks in a heavily accented English from the dimly lit doorway of a respectably well maintained bordello. The building is three stories tall and done with cheap paint and plaster to imitate traditional Khmer architecture.

"_*Neither*" _Rose answers in a local dialect of Khmer. "_*I'm trying to find Lillian Worth, do you know her*"_

"_*She owe you money?*"_ the woman replies.

"_*She's my mother*"_

"_*So you're the one, I should have recalled your white hair*"_ The women steps out of the red glow of the doorway, the glaring artificial light from the street lamp age her 10 years in an instant.

"_*You know her*"_ it's not a question.

"_*knew her, honey, you know well enough she's dead*"_

"_*No I don't know*"_ If she was dead, Rose could let this rest.

"_*well that's too bad honey*"_ The woman removes a cigarette from a silver cigarette case and lights in with experienced hands.

"_*How did you know her, did you work with her*"_

"_*Babe, she nearly drove my house out of business, now she's dead and good riddance, good riddance to you too, unless you're buying something, got a few boys who could show you a good time, girls too, I won't judge*"_

Rose walks away to the sound of the woman's laughter. She doesn't give the old whore the satisfaction of bothering to get angry.

It's a scene that Rose has played out a dozen times across the bordellos of the city. Everyone knew Lilly, everyone assumes she's dead. It's frustrating, but she knows that if Lilly is alive, she's not going to be found overnight.

It's early when she returns to the Grande Royal, she could go out and party, but it's no fun in her condition. She eats dinner by herself in the hotel restaurant and returns to her room. She's got the first of her promised appointments with the OB/GYN tomorrow anyway, might as well call it an early night.

Oddly enough she's not surprised to find her father waiting for her when she gets to the room.

Slade Wilson fills the entire space of the suite from the armchair in the corner. That's how big his presence is. "Something you want to tell me, Princess"

No small talk, no introductions or casual conversation about the terrible weather outside. Straight to the point.

"Daddy I'm pregnant"

"Yes, and?" what more does he want.

"It's Robin's"

"Robin?" Slade's eyebrow arches incredulously, "Wayne's kid? Didn't think the boy had it in him. When were you planning on calling me about this?"

"Soon, Daddy, I was just scared of what you would say" She's crying now, and it's almost entirely the fault of her pregnant hormones.

He walks over to her and embraces her in a bear hug. "There there princess, it's ok. This is nothing we can't deal with together. Me as a grandpa, can't say I saw this coming."

For a moment she just wants to believe him. She just wants to be hugged by her father and not wonder what the consequences of that would be, but eventually reality sets in and she remembers all the bad too. The serum, the Titan's East, all the harm he's done her, and Joey too, and she steels herself.

"You're right dad, it's nothing I can't deal with, but not with you. I don't want your help, I've already had enough of that, and look at all the good it's done me"

"Too bad princess" he drops his arms from the hug that was no longer welcome. "Can't say I blame you, all things considered, Robin taking care of you and your situation"

"He's writing a lot of promises"

"And what about me?"

"What about me?"

"You taking care of you and your situation?"

He doesn't take the door, he leaves by the window, pausing before he leaps. "You're mother's got some family left in Stung Treng, The Khmer Rouge have done a number on your bloodline, but some of your cousins are still around, a few of them are still using the name Worth"

With that he's gone.

Rose spends the rest of the night pouring over maps and making plans.

…...

Tim raises his hand to knock, then hesitates. He closes his eyes, he takes a deep breath, he knocks on the door.

The door opens a moment later.

"Hey little brother, I was wondering when I might see you" Dick Grayson is standing in the doorway wearing a white tee-shirt and a pair of drawstring yoga pants.

"Yeah" Tim says, he stands there awkwardly, "here I am" lifts his hands into an almost shrug.

"Come on in kid, I was just making dinner" Dick moves back into the apartment. Tim can smell roasting meat with an under current of white wine and rosemary as he follows Dick to the kitchen.

"Chicken's bout ready to come out of the oven, do me a favor and stir the sauce." Tim obediently checks the sauce, a white wine with butter base with rosemary and garlic. Noticing the pasta was about done he silently gets the colander down and ducks as Dick reaches across to grab a fork to check the chicken with, they move through the kitchen like brothers, or partners. It's easy and casual, Tim finishes dressing the salad while Dick mixes the capers into the pasta sauce.

They fix their plates and sit down at the small kitchenette table.

"Chicken's good" Tim says.

"Yeah, I got the recipe from Alfred"

There's an awkward tension, Rose Wilson is the elephant in this room, and they are both tip toeing around while waiting for the other to bring it up.

"So Tim, I talked to Kor'i recently"

"Yeah"

"She said that Rose Wilson is pregnant"

Tim can feel a deep flush creeping across his face as the conversation he came for, and also desperately wants to avoid approaches.

"Yeah, she is"

"I talked to Bruce too, says you might have something to do with that"

Tim doesn't reply immediately, he just pokes at his salad idly.

"Yeah, I did"

"Man kiddo, got yourself in a real mess" Dick is looking at Tim with an appraising expression.

"I sure did" Tim is relieved to finally have the problem aired.

"I mean, I know you don't want to say, but I have to ask, did you guys use protection?"

"Yeah, we did, we are the statistical minority of failed condoms"

"Bruce tells me you plan to raise the kid with her, as Tim"

"You think that's a bad idea?"

"It's probably not a good idea, but it's also probably the right thing to do"

"Yeah, that's kind of what I figured, I mean, keeping identities hidden is hard, but I think we can put a good PR spin on this, and you know, it's my kid, I don't want to be a secret dad, it's... it's bigger then me, it's my kid, and I can't give her a secret identity and hide her in my life as a floozy or something, for one her hair and her eye, for two, I don't think she would let me"

"I'm picking up what your putting down Tim, I've been there"

"Really?"

"Not this far in, but me and Barbara had a serious scare once. And I have been with some girls who I would not want to join the statistical minority of failed condoms with, I mean, Tarantula, could you imagine?"

"I'm getting a pretty good idea of what that picture would look like" Tim's voice is dry and unamused.

"Oh come on kid, Rose isn't that bad, she's got her heart in the right place, she's just got some issues to sort out"

"And some of those issues are with me, I had her in Gotham for a few weeks, it was a nightmare."

"where is she now?"

"Cambodia, wanted to take some time off, get back with her roots, I think it's a positive step, to examine her mother's influence on her life while she prepares to become a mother"

"You know her mother never showed up during the crisis with the Black Lanterns"

"one, wow! two, how do you know that?"

"Slade told me"

"You and Slade been chatty recently?"

"Generally, no, but he called me last night so that I might deliver to you a choice lecture about the responsibilities of fatherhood and the life expectancy of boys who may have recently fathered his grandchild"

Tim groans at the prospect of Slade Wilson's new found attention.

"So" Dick continues "She moving to Gotham."

"That's what I'm hoping, she doesn't seem too thrilled at the idea, but I'm holding on to the hope"

"Wayne Manor?"

"I'm remodeling the carriage house actually"

"Ah." Dick pauses awkwardly not entirely sure where to take this conversation from here. "so I've been looking over the Titan's battle records and I saw a few areas I think you guys really need to tighten up on"

"Yeah, the dynamic is not quite there though, Kid Devil keeps acting like he's just waiting for me to kick him off the team, and nothing I say really stops that, the connection is just not quite there for some reason"

"yeah I can see that, so here's some ideas I been kicking around"

They spend the rest the night on the more comfortable topics of how to not die, or get their friends killed.


End file.
